important

In an email to supporters, the 77-year-old independent senator from Vermont has pledged to create a government “based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.” In seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, Sanders is hoping to tap back into the momentum that thrust his left-wing political insurgency to mainstream popularity in 2016.

What’s different this time? While Sanders was Hillary Clinton’s only progressive opponent in 2016, the current field of candidates is far more diverse — raising questions about how competitive he’ll be in a crowded field.

Now Running

California is leading a coalition of states including Illinois, Michigan, Virginia and New York in challenging President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to fund a barrier along the southern border. Filed in a San Francisco federal court, the states’ lawsuit claims Trump has “veered the country toward a constitutional crisis” by diverting cash that’s meant to be controlled by Congress.

How tense will this get? A drawn-out legal battle could go all the way to the Supreme Court — just in time for the 2020 election.

Lawyered Up

Speaking at Florida International University yesterday, President Trump assured military leaders in the crisis-racked country they’ll “lose everything” if they continue backing embattled President Nicolás Maduro. In response, Maduro slammed Trump’s “Nazi-style” remarks, as well as his belief that a U.S. leader could influence Venezuela’s armed forces.

What’s the next boiling point? All eyes are on a potentially tense showdown Saturday, when opposition leader Juan Guaidó will attempt to bring humanitarian aid in from neighboring Colombia.

War of Words

It’s hitting the brakes. While Britain’s preparing for a potentially messy divorce from the European Union, the Japanese carmaker announced today it’ll pack up its only factory in the EU by 2021. While Honda said its decision is unrelated to Brexit — the company’s also cutting production in Turkey — the move is a symbolic blow to the British economy. Responsible for producing some 150,000 Honda Civics each year for export to 70 countries, the plant employs 3,500 people.

Is anyone else calling it quits? Honda rival Nissan recently announced it would cut production at its U.K. plant, while top British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is scaling back its global workforce by 4,500.

Closing Time

As another round of trade talks between Beijing and Washington are set to begin today in the U.S. capital, the March 1 deadline for sealing a deal — when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports would leap to 25 percent — is fast approaching. Experts believe the results of these talks could be a bellwether for Trump’s global trade policies writ large.

What’s the secret to success? While China’s pledge to purchase more U.S. goods has been seen as a positive signal, experts say Washington needs to establish an effective enforcement mechanism before claiming victory.

In Short

intriguing

George Mendonsa, the jubilant seaman photographed on the day Japan surrendered during World War II, has died in a Rhode Island nursing home. A Life photographer captured Mendonsa kissing dental assistant Greta Friedman — whom he mistook for a military nurse — on Aug. 14, 1945. His identity was verified in 2012, while Friedman, who told Life in the ‘60s she was in the image, was officially confirmed by the magazine in 1980.

Why the mystery? Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt failed to get their details, leading to decades of speculation, photo analysis and even 3D face scanning to prove the subjects’ identities.

Memorable Moment

In an address to Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his country’s leading political parties had recently fallen victim to a cyberattack, just three months before a federal election. Although he said there’s no evidence of electoral tampering, the hack bears similarities to cyber assaults staged during the 2016 U.S. and 2017 French elections.

Who’s responsible? The only four states thought capable are the U.S., Russia, Israel, and China — with the latter under the most suspicion — though authorities say it’s possible another state could be trying to frame Beijing.

Check out this OZY story about what’s helping Australia’s labor movement survive.

System Breach

The Middle Kingdom will launch solar farms into orbit within a decade to harness a steady supply of solar energy that would be beamed back to Earth, according to the state-backed Science and TechnologyDaily. Small tests of the technology will begin in 2021, with a megawatt-level facility planned by 2030 and a gigawatt-level station by 2050.

Is China winning the space race? It has an $8 billion annual budget for space exploration — second only to the U.S. — and reportedly plans to 3D print the first lunar base.

Bright Spot

According to the country’s health secretary, 136 people have died of measles this year — half of which were children ages 1-4 — and 8,400 others have become sick amid an outbreak that’s been attributed to fears of vaccination. Warning of fatal complications from the preventable disease, President Rodrigo Duterte has urged parents to immunize their children.

How quickly can the outbreak be contained? If the ongoing immunization drive in Manila and four other regions is successful, authorities say the crisis could be over by April.

Read OZY’s profile of the artist racing to save his country’s ancient script.

Outbreak

They’re almost on parallel footing. Skiing and snowboarding have largely escaped the gender pay gap found in most other sports. In fact, all but one of the top-ranking female athletes earned more than the men with equivalent rankings during the last snowboarding season, OZY reports. Half of the top-paid alpine skiers are women, and most competitions that report their prize money bestow equal purses.

Does equal pay reach the bottom? While pay parity exists for major contests like the Winter X Games and the Burton U.S. Open, lower-level events have some catching up to do.